Williamson joins LSG as strategic advisor, Langer to continue as head coach

Kane Williamson has joined IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as a strategic advisor ahead of the 2026 season, the team's owner Sanjiv Goenka said on social media on Thursday, while Carl Crowe has joined the team as spin-bowling coach.

The franchise also confirmed that Justin Langer and Bharat Arun would continue as the head coach and the fast-bowling coach, respectively.

"His leadership, strategic insight, deep understanding of the game, and ability to inspire players make him an invaluable addition to the team," Goenka wrote of Williamson, the 35-year-old former New Zealand captain.

Williamson said: "I'm really excited to be joining LSG. They have a hugely talented squad and a great group of coaches which I'm looking forward to working alongside. It's always special being involved in the IPL, the best franchise competition in the game."

Williamson, who has been a part of the Super Giants franchise while with their Durban team in the SA20, last played for New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final against India in March this year. He has not retired from international cricket yet but, having opted for a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket, his appearances are likely to be sporadic.

He will miss the upcoming T20I series at home against England, but is targeting a comeback in the ODIs that follow. The first of those 50-over matches takes place at his home town in Tauranga on October 26.

Though a veteran of the IPL, Williamson hasn't had much to do in the last two seasons. In IPL 2023, playing for Gujarat Titans (GT), he picked up a knee injury in their first game of the season and played no further part in the competition. In IPL 2024, while also with GT, he played just two games, scoring 27 runs in 27 balls. He wasn't bought at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025.

More recently, he was at The Hundred in England, where Williamson had a good if unspectacular run, scoring 204 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 129.93 for London Spirit, who finished seventh among eight teams.

"We enter every IPL season full of hope and expectation - 2026 is no exception and we are excited about the work we have ahead of us as we continue building a franchise into one the Goenka family, our players, sponsors, supporters and fans are all immensely proud of," Langer said. "The work hasn't stopped since the end of last season as we prepare to make our mark on this season's IPL. The hope, expectation and passion for LSG is growing strongly. We are looking forward to strengthening our squad in the coming months. And, we look forward to seeing Ekana bathed in blue when the season kicks off."

Williamson has no experience being part of a team's support staff, but is an immensely respected figure in international cricket. He captained New Zealand to the 2019 ODI World Cup final and won the inaugural World Test Championship two years later. LSG, led by Rishabh Pant and coached by Justin Langer, finished in seventh place in IPL 2025, the same as in IPL 2024, after finishing third in their first two seasons in IPL 2022 and 2023.

Though Williamson was with Durban's Super Giants in SA20 2024, he was not retained, and the franchise had conversations with him about joining the revamped coaching staff at LSG.

Crowe, meanwhile, is the second coach from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise to move to LSG after former India bowling coach Arun in July this year. Arun was with KKR for three seasons as bowling coach.

After Zaheer Khan's exit, not made public by the franchise yet, LSG are yet to confirm whether assistant coaches Lance Klusener and Vijay Dahiya will stay with the team or not.